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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 11:17-34
In chapter ten of 1 Corinthians Paul speaks concerning the Lord’s table. In 10:16 he asks, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a fellowship of the body of Christ?” In verse 21 he goes on to say, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons.” Since Paul has already begun to talk about the Lord’s table, why does he not go on directly to speak concerning the Lord’s supper? Why does he bring in the matter of headship, or head covering, after his word about the Lord’s table and before that about the Lord’s supper? This seems to be neither logical nor reasonable. However, there is a reason for this interruption.
In the first ten chapters of this Epistle Paul deals with problems related to the Christian life; he does not deal with God’s administration. But in chapter eleven he begins to deal with matters related to God’s administration. In the divine administration the first concern is God’s headship. Whenever God’s headship is honored, then all the matters related to God’s administration will be proper. But when God’s headship is dishonored, all these matters will be improper. This is the reason that Paul brings in the matter of headship before continuing to deal with the Lord’s supper.
Concerning the remembrance of the Lord, Paul uses the term “the table of the Lord” in 10:21 and “the Lord’s supper” in 11:20. There is an important difference between the Lord’s table and the Lord’s supper. We should not take these terms for granted. Rather, we should ask why Paul speaks of the Lord’s table in chapter ten and the Lord’s supper in chapter eleven.
The Lord’s table refers to the enjoyment of the Lord in fellowship. Hence, the significance of the Lord’s table is enjoyment for participation, enjoyment for fellowship. When we say that we take the Lord’s table, we mean that we enjoy the Lord in the fellowship of Him. This is for our enjoyment and satisfaction. The Lord’s supper, however, is for His satisfaction. It is for the remembrance of Him. Regarding the Lord’s table and the Lord’s supper, there is mutuality. The Lord’s table is for our enjoyment, but the Lord’s supper is for His enjoyment. Sometimes we may say, “Lord, we come to Your table and partake of it.” This indicates that we are enjoying the Lord. At other times we may say, “We thank You that we can have Your supper.” This indicates that we are remembering the Lord for His enjoyment and satisfaction.
In 11:29 Paul uses the expression “the body.” In the New Testament the Body denotes the mystical Body of Christ in the Spirit. However, since Paul in this portion is speaking about the Lord’s supper, the body here must also denote the body of Jesus. In verse 24 Paul quotes the word of the Lord Jesus: “This is My body, which is for you; this do for the remembrance of Me.” Does this refer to His physical body or to the mystical Body? The words “for you” indicate that the body here denotes the Lord’s physical body. His physical body is for us, whereas the mystical Body of Christ is for Him. The church today as the mystical Body is not for us — it is for Christ. But the physical body of Jesus which was crucified is for us. Therefore, in remembrance of the Lord we partake of the bread which signifies His physical body.
First Corinthians 11:25 says, “Similarly also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood; this do, as often as you drink it, for the remembrance of Me.” The blood here surely refers to the physical blood, not to the mystical blood. We partake of the cup also in remembrance of the Lord.
Although the body in 11:24 denotes the physical body of Jesus, Paul uses the expression, “not discerning the body,” in verse 29 to denote also the mystical Body. Some may argue that discerning the body in this verse means to discern only the physical body of Jesus from ordinary food. In this verse Paul mentions eating and drinking. Eating is related to the physical body and drinking to physical blood; however, at the end of verse 29 Paul does not speak of not discerning the blood and the body nor of not discerning the body and the blood. Rather, he speaks only of not discerning the body. Therefore, this discernment does not refer only to the discernment of the physical body and blood of Jesus from ordinary food and drink. The meaning of discerning the body here involves something more.
The physical body of Jesus was given on the cross to accomplish redemption for us. But that body has nothing to do with God’s present administration. It is the mystical Body of Christ which is thoroughly and absolutely related to God’s administration today. Apart from the mystical Body of Christ, God has no way, no means, to carry out His administration. This means that God’s administration is being carried out through the mystical Body of Christ. What are we doing on earth as the mystical Body of Christ? We certainly are not working for the accomplishment of redemption, for redemption has been accomplished once for all by the Lord Jesus. Redemption has been fully accomplished by the offering of the physical body of Jesus on the cross. But Christ today has a mystical Body, and this Body is for the carrying out of God’s administration.
When we come to the Lord’s table, our concern is neither redemption nor the divine administration; our concern is for enjoyment. We all come to the Lord’s table to enjoy the Lord in fellowship. We probably do not have any thought of God’s administration. The Lord’s supper, however, is related to the Lord’s enjoyment and satisfaction. We should not only care for our enjoyment at the table, but also care for the Lord’s enjoyment at the supper. We may have a heart for our enjoyment of the table, the feast, but not have much of a heart for the Lord’s remembrance. We may care for our satisfaction, but not care for the Lord’s satisfaction. Therefore, we need more light from the Lord concerning the Lord’s supper. This will cause our meetings around His table to be improved. We shall praise the Lord that the supper is for His remembrance, enjoyment, and satisfaction. We shall realize that we are not only for our satisfaction, but even the more for God to be satisfied by Him.
If we want the Lord Jesus to be satisfied at the Lord’s supper, we should not only remember Him, but also care for God’s administration carried out by Him. Today what satisfies the Lord the most is the divine administration. If we remember Him without caring for the divine administration, He will not be happy. If we want to make Him happy and satisfy Him, we must be able to say, “Lord, while we are remembering You, we discern Your Body for God’s administration carried out by You. As we remember You, we do not forget what You are doing in the heavens. You are seated in the heavens to carry out God’s administration.”
In chapter ten Paul does not say anything about participating in the Lord’s table until He comes. But in 11:26 he says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you declare the Lord’s death until He comes.” The Lord’s coming will bring in God’s kingdom for His administration. His first coming was for our redemption, but His second coming will be for God’s administration. When we take of the Lord’s table, we care for our enjoyment. But when we take of the Lord’s supper, we care for His remembrance and God’s administration. The Lord’s table is for our enjoyment. However, the Lord’s supper is for His enjoyment and satisfaction. Furthermore, His satisfaction is dependent on God’s administration carried out by Him. Do you intend to give the Lord the best remembrance? If you do, then you must take care of the mystical Body, the means for Him to carry out God’s administration on earth. We must remember Him in this way until He comes. We do this to carry out His administration until He comes back and brings His kingdom to earth.
We have emphasized the fact that when we take the Lord’s table we enjoy Him, and when we eat the Lord’s supper we satisfy Him by remembering Him and caring for God’s administration. But in what way do we take care of this administration? It is by discerning the Body. Many Christians have no idea what it means to discern the Body.
To discern the Body is first to realize that Christ has only one mystical Body. But look at the situation among Christians today. How many divisions there are! Each denomination and group has its own bread. Some even go so far as to insist that if you have not been baptized by them in their water, you will not be allowed to participate in their bread. When we come to the Lord’s supper, we must discern the Body to determine whether the bread on the table represents the unique mystical Body of Christ. This is a matter of great importance.
The unique mystical Body of Christ is the means for God to carry out His administration. God’s eternal purpose is to have a group of saved, redeemed, and regenerated people who have become one to be an organic Body to carry out His administration. But Satan’s subtle device is to cut the Body into pieces. This frustrates God’s administration. As long as we are in a division, we are through with God’s administration. For this reason, today’s Christianity has become useless as far as the carrying out of the divine administration is concerned. Christians may preach the gospel to save souls or teach the Bible to help others know the Word. But this is absolutely not adequate to carry out God’s administration. The carrying out of the divine administration needs the unique Body, the mystical Body. Because we realize this, we hate division and are absolutely opposed to it.
Divisions damage the mystical Body of Christ with respect to the carrying out of God’s administration. Although Christians can preach the gospel and teach the Bible, there are few who care for the mystical Body of Christ for the carrying out of God’s administration on earth. Suppose all Christians would care for this. How marvelous this situation would be! What an administration God could have on earth! But the divisions among Christians not only paralyze the Body of Christ; they even cause the Body to be cut in pieces. This makes it extremely difficult for God to accomplish anything on earth for the carrying out of His administration. For centuries God has not been able to carry out His administration because the unique means for this — the mystical Body of Christ — has been cut into pieces through division.
Throughout the years we have been deeply impressed with the significance of the Lord’s table. We know that Jesus’ physical body was given for the accomplishment of our redemption so that we may enjoy Him in fellowship. Therefore, we often pray, “Lord, thank You for Your redeeming blood. Thank You for redeeming us by shedding Your blood. Lord, we also thank You that you have given Your body on the cross to bear our sins, to die for us, and to terminate the old creation. Lord, now we are here enjoying Your table. You gave Yourself through death and now, in resurrection, You are on the table for our enjoyment.” Now we must also be impressed that to eat the Lord’s supper is to satisfy Him. It is to give Him our remembrance. This implies that we are here for the carrying out of God’s administration. In order that God’s administration may be carried out, we must care for the oneness of the unique mystical Body of Christ. Having such a concern will preserve us in the Body and keep us from any division. If we have this understanding of the Lord’s supper, we shall not be divided by anything. Rather, we shall remain in the unique mystical Body, the means for Christ to carry out His heavenly ministry for the accomplishment of the divine administration.
Regarding the Lord’s supper, Paul uses two crucial words: prove and discern. Verse 28 says, “But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” To prove ourselves is to check whether we are eating the bread and drinking the cup in a way that is worthy or in a way that is unworthy. When Paul wrote this Epistle, some of the believers at Corinth ate the Lord’s supper in an unworthy way, not realizing that the cup and the bread were uncommon and different from ordinary food. We must realize that the cup signifies the blood the Lord shed on the cross for our sins. Thus, we should not drink it in a common, ordinary way, but drink it in a way which shows that we realize that it is different from ordinary drink. We should take the bread in the same manner.
However, we reject the superstitious Catholic teaching of transubstantiation. According to this heretical teaching, the bread and the wine in the cup actually become the body and blood of Christ.
Although we reject transubstantiation, we must realize as we drink the cup and eat the bread that these are solemn, holy, and divine signs. The cup signifies the precious blood our dear Lord shed on the cross for our sins, and the bread signifies the body He gave for us on the cross. Therefore, we should not treat these signs in a careless manner. If we eat and drink carelessly, then we partake of the Lord’s supper in an unworthy way. We need to prove ourselves to be sure that we are not unworthy to partake of the Lord’s supper. This proving ourselves is that we may be worthy to remember the Lord.
The second crucial word used by Paul is discern. Verse 29 says, “For he who is eating and drinking, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body.” We have pointed out that this is the discerning both of the Lord’s physical body and also of the mystical Body for the carrying out of God’s administration. Proving ourselves is for the remembrance of the Lord; discerning the Body is mainly for the carrying out of God’s administration. Whenever we come to the Lord’s table, we should not just enjoy the Lord; we should also remember Him by proving ourselves. We must ask if we are living in a way that is worthy for us to eat the Lord’s supper. We should never take the Lord’s blood and body in a careless manner. Instead, we should realize that the signs on the table signify the precious blood and body of the Lord. Then we must ask ourselves if we live and behave in a way that is worthy of our eating this supper. This is to remember the Lord. At the same time we must discern whether the bread on the table signifies the unique mystical Body of Christ or if it signifies a division. If the bread signifies a certain divisive group or denomination, we should not take it, for we discern the Body. To discern the Body in this way is to recognize that it is utterly distinct from anything divisive. We discern the Body in such a way for the carrying out of God’s administration.
Although we are still small in number, the angels and demons know that our standing is different from that of divisive Christianity. Furthermore, deep within we have the assurance that we are discerning the Body for the carrying out of God’s administration on earth. We are also the heavenly television reflecting on earth what Christ is doing in the heavens for the divine administration. Others may oppose us, argue with us, and vindicate themselves. But deep within their conscience they do not have the assurance that they are discerning the unique mystical Body. Praise the Lord, we have this assurance!
